Fantasy Football Defense Rankings Week 4: Who to start, best sleepers & streamers at D/ST

Sloan Piva

Fantasy Football Defense Rankings Week 4: Who to start, best sleepers & streamers at D/ST image

As we (somehow) approach Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season, we know a lot more today than we did a month ago. We've seen positive and negative regression on both sides of the ball, and the league's true contenders have started to separate themselves from the pretenders. As always, defense remains a vital yet underrated factor to winning in real life and fantasy football, and our Week 4 fantasy defense rankings can point you in the right direction.  

This week, a handful of otherwise strong defenses have very difficult matchups. Even the Jets (vs. Chiefs) — practically a weekly lineup lock — barely made our top 12 in the rankings. Meanwhile, the Bills (vs. Dolphins) dropped to the late teens with Miami's historic offense coming to town (70 points!? Against the Broncos?).

Needless to say, with usually strong defenses dropping in the rankings, other D/STs obviously rise up as sleepers and high-upside streamer options. If you've been following our weekly Waiver Wire Watchlist, you're probably already prepared to streams if your D has a tough Week 4 matchup, but it still makes sense to check back here early and often to stay on top of the latest rankings and developments. 

So, let's dive into our Week 4 fantasy defense rankings, and get you prepared to beat your opponent at D/ST. No position left behind here! Championship-caliber teams dominate from top to bottom — now let's get it!

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Who are the best fantasy defenses in Week 4?

Stop me if you've heard this before, but the 49ers (vs. Cardinals) are the best team in football. A big reason for that is their defense, which seems to get better each year. Javon Hargrave, a pass-rusher from the NFC-champion Eagles earlier this year, was a fantastic addition to this squad, and Nick Bosa looks poised for another run at Defensive Player of the Year. This squad is imposing its will at all three levels, so good luck, Josh Dobbs — Kyle Shanahan's team will be much more prepared than the Cowboys were last week. 

Speaking of Dallas (vs. Patriots), you think this unit will be practicing and playing with a chip on its shoulder this week? Arizona embarrassed this squad, which clearly went into the desert thinking it was on a different stratosphere than the Cardinals. Now Micah Parsons and the Cowboys get to bounce back against Mac Jones and the Patriots, who won an ugly 15-10 game against Zach Wilson and the Jets in Week 3. 

We also like the Patriots (@ Cowboys), as Dak Prescott has not looked great so far this season and Bill Belichick always prepares his squad well for big games. New England held Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook to 18 yards apiece last week, and top Jets receiver Garrett Wilson failed to reach 50 receiving yards. It could be a long day for Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb.

Speaking of long days, the Steelers (@ Texans) will be giving DeMeco Ryans' Houston squad a much tougher test than the Jaguars did last week. T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and company are on a different level than Jacksonville's D, and it will show in the box score in the form of Texans' turnovers and sacks allowed. 

The Ravens (@ Browns) have been good on D and bad on offense, and a date with an inconsistent Deshaun Watson could be just what the doctor ordered. Similarly, the Browns (vs. Ravens) will be all over Lamar Jackson, who has looked rusty when rushed and obviously misses JK Dobbins. We have both Baltimore and Cleveland even higher than the Broncos (@ Bears), Eagles (vs. Commanders), and Saints (vs. Buccaneers) despite seemingly better matchups for that trio.

WEEK 4 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Who are the best fantasy defense sleepers, waiver pickups in Week 4?

We already mentioned the Broncos (@ Bears), who got destroyed by the Dolphins in a 70-20 South Beach slaughter that Dexter would appreciate. Sean Payton will have this Denver squad ready to rebound against an abysmal Chicago offense. The Broncos closed out the weekend just 38-percent rostered in Yahoo. 

The Bengals (@ Titans), Buccaneers (@ Saints), and Lions (@ Packers) all have road games, but all look like strong streamers against below-average QBs. The Tennessee offense has looked awful, and Cincy is basically in must-win mode. New Orleans will likely start turnover-prone Jameis Winston under center with Derek Carr's shoulder hurt, and we're still not totally sold on Jordan Love, who could be surprised by a Detroit defense that looked pretty damn good last weekend against a 2-0 Falcons team. 

Another team that brought it last weekend was the Colts (vs. Rams), who upset the Ravens in a defensive battle. Indy catches the Rams without Cooper Kupp (hamstring) and should have enough Tutu Atwell/Puka Nacua tape to prepare for L.A. at home. If you're a wary owner of the Bills or Dolphins — who go against each other this weekend — you could do worse than the Vikings (@ Panthers), Seahawks (@ Giants), or Titans (vs. Bengals). In deep leagues, we might even consider the Texans (vs. Steelers). All present upside thanks to shaky and/or injured QBs. 

We'll be updating these D/ST rankings throughout the remainder of the week, so check back for the latest player movement and analysis.

WEEK 4 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks

Fantasy Defense Rankings Week 4: Who to start, sit at D/ST

Rank    Player
1    San Francisco 49ers vs. Cardinals
2    Dallas Cowboys vs. Patriots
3    Pittsburgh Steelers @ Texans
4    New England Patriots @ Cowboys
5    Baltimore Ravens @ Browns
6    Cleveland Browns vs. Ravens
7    Denver Broncos @ Bears
8    Philadelphia Eagles vs. Commanders
9    New Orleans Saints vs. Buccaneers
10    Cincinnati Bengals @ Titans
11    New York Jets vs. Chiefs
12    Kansas City Chiefs @ Jets
13    Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Saints
14    Detroit Lions @ Packers
15    Indianapolis Colts vs. Rams
16    Buffalo Bills vs. Dolphins
17    Miami Dolphins @ Bills
18    Minnesota Vikings @ Panthers
19    Seattle Seahawks @ Giants
20    Tennessee Titans vs. Bengals
21    Houston Texans vs. Steelers
22    Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Falcons
23    New York Giants vs. Seahawks
24    Los Angeles Rams @ Colts
25    Chicago Bears vs. Broncos
26    Atlanta Falcons vs. Jaguars
27    Green Bay Packers vs. Lions
28    Los Angeles Chargers vs. Raiders
29    Washington Commanders @ Eagles
30    Las Vegas Raiders @ Chargers
31    Carolina Panthers vs. Vikings
32    Arizona Cardinals @ 49ers

Week 4 D/ST fantasy projections, rankings from Draft Sharks

Draft Sharks projections for the new week will update every Tuesday and be constantly adjusted throughout the week

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Sloan Piva

Sloan Piva Photo

Sloan Piva is a content producer for The Sporting News, primarily focused on betting, fantasy sports, and poker. A lifelong New Englander, Sloan earned his BA and MA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts and now lives in coastal Rhode Island with his wife and two kids.